WALTERS SPELLS OUT MAROONS’ T ASK
Q U E E N S L A N D c o a c h Kevin Walters has delivered returning Maroons Daly Cherry- Evans and Corey Oates a blunt outlook on their State of Origin futures: win Game Three if you want to be picked next year.
Cherry- Evans will make his comeback from a threeyear exile next Wednesday, after Walters confirmed yesterday that the Manly skipper will wear the No. 7 jersey over Ben Hunt at Suncorp Stadium.
Broncos winger Oates will also return to the Origin arena in his first match since Game One last year, following the withdrawal of captain Greg Inglis with a broken thumb.
Walters said yesterday the extra experience of Cherry- Evans, Oates and returning forward Tim Glasby was the key factor behind their inclusion as Queensland fight to avoid a series whitewash.
But Walters also made it clear their futures are in their own hands, challenging them to force the selectors into remaining loyal to them next year by winning Game Three.
“We’re very loyal as Queenslanders, and the selectors have been very loyal. But we want to be loyal to a winning team,” Walters said.
“That’s what we need to be loyal to more than anything else.
“We picked ( CherryEvans) for a reason. We want to win Game Three.
“That’s the sole reason why we have selected the 17 that we have.
“Our first priority is to win Game Three and start building with another eye on the future as well. If DCE can have a good performance, there’s no reason he can’t be back here next year.
“For Corey, he has been knocking on the door since his last appearance.
“No doubt Corey will want to give himself a nice game and a really strong game to cement his spot.”
Hunt has been moved to the bench as the team’s utility in favour of Cherry- Evans, who has long been rumoured to be on the outer with Queensland officials and senior players.
Walters again denied those suggestions yesterday, and also defended Hunt’s performance in Game Two, after the playmaker came under heavy scrutiny for his decisions in attack when NSW lost James Roberts to the sin bin.
He said the reason for Cherry- Evans’ recall had nothing to do with Hunt’s Origin II effort, but a lack of leadership in the halves.
“He’s a great experienced player . . . he’s a premiership winner, he’s played Origin football, he’s played Test football,” Walters said of Cherry- Evans.
“In Games One and Two, we just lacked a little bit of leadership in those positions. I think he provides certainly all of that. That experience around the halves is something we haven’t had in this series. It’s an area there where, we haven’t been let down in, but it’s an area we can get better at. “DCE can fill those shoes. “Ben’s first game was a little bit indifferent, second game a lot better. We know he belongs at this level, we know that he does belong in the Queensland team.
“It’s just a matter of finding his role within the side. The interchange role is one that can be really effective for us at this level . . . He covers a number of positions, from hooker into the halves and he’s a dangerous player as well.
“We’ve taken all the load off him now and we just want him to go out and play footy which he does best.”